Internal-combustion engine



G. D. HOWE- INTERNAL comausnom ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 27, I920.

Patented July 12, 1921;

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

G. D. HOWE.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 27. I920. 1,3845133, Patented July 12, 1192110 2SHEETS-SHEET 2- UNHTJED STATES PATENT caries.

GEORGE D. HOWE, 0F DAVISON, IKEECHIGAN.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION Enema.

Application filed. January 27, 1920. Serial No. 354,496.

T 0 an whom it may concern:

Be it known that l GEORGE D. Hows, a citizen of the United states ofAmerica, residin at Davison, in the county of Genesee and tate ofMichigan, have invented certain new and. useful Improvements inInternaLCombustion Engines, of which the following is a specification,reference being had therein to-the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to multi-cylinder internal combustion engines andhas special reference to that type of engine having pis tons thereinarticulated with a crank shaft for'driving said shaft when explosivemixtures are detonated in the cylinders of the engine above the pistons.Such an engine ordinarily has intake and exhaust valves controlling theadmission of gas or an explosive mixture to the cylinders and theexhaust of burned gases therefrom, said intake and exhaust valves beingoperated in timed relation from a cam shaft suitably driven by the crankshaft of the engine. The intake and exhaust thereof necessitates the useof conduits or manifolds for conducting the gases to and from theengine, one of the conduits being known as the exhaust manifold and theother as an intake manifold, which is generally connected to acarbureter or source of fuel for the intake.

My invention, in its broadest aspects, involves the circulation of anexplosive mixture through the cylinders of the engine so that theexplosive mixture may be heated, prior to being detonated, and placed ina better condition for combustion. To do this certain changes oradditions are necessary to the engine, and each change or addition maybe characterized in the following particulars.

First, the engine cylinders and the connecting rods may bere-proportioned. If the diameters of the cylinders are increased theconnecting rods are maintained the usual length and stroke, but if thecylinders are increased in their longitudinal dimensions so that theengine cylinders will be of greater length than ordinary cylinders, thenthe connecting rods are proportionately in.- creased so that a greaterpiston stroke is attained which reduces to a minimum piston slap,vibration, and insures quieter and smoother running of the engine.Another advanta e gained isthat of providing a comparative y longercompression stroke for the piston, the first portion of the long comression stroke permitting of a portion 0 the operated from the camshaft, the

explosive mixture within the c linder being transferred, as willhereinafter appear, and the remaining portion of the stroke actuallycompressing, and permitting of a greater amount of energy or work beingderived from detonated and expanding gases in the cylinder by the longreturn or work stroke of the piston. It is a Well known fact that theexhaust from the average explosive engine indicates that the releasedburned gases are not at atmospheric pressure and in many in stances areat high pressure when released. By providing a greater work stroke forthe piston it is possible to utilize some of the pressure heretoforeexhausted, and consequently greater efliciency may be expected from anengine in accordance with this invention.

Second, I provide the engine with what may be termed excess dischargevalves which are located in proximity to the intake and exhaust valvesof the engineand discharge valves being timed so as to open while theintake and exhaust valves of the cylinder are closed and duringapproximatelyone-third of the compression stroke of the piston, bearingin mind that the cylinder has been madea greater diameter or a greaterlength than an ordinary cylinder and the piston stroke increased. It isnow obvious that with the discharge valve open that a third of thevolume of explosive gas r fuel within the cylinder may be displaced.But, while the excess quantity of gas has been passed through thecylinder it has been heated by the walls "thereof and it is this warmmixture which I conduct to the main supply of fuel so that it willcommingle therewith and provide a better combustion. To do this, it isnecessary to provide an auxiliary manifold communicating with the excessdischarge valve so that the excess explosive mixture may be collectedand conducted to the supply of fuel. The auxiliary manifold may beconnected to the main manifold, adjacent the carbureter of the engine orconnected to the air intake connection of the carbureter, just so thatthe warmed explosive mixture will commingle with the initial charge to acylinder, raise its temperature and place itin a better condition. Insome instances, the intake, exhaust and auxiliary manifolds may be casten bloc.

Other advantages and benefits to be derived from my invention will morereadily its appear as'the nature of the invention is better understood,and reference will now ,be

had to the drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a plan of a multi-cylinderinternal combustion engine in accordance with my invention, showing acylinder head removed; 4

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the engine, partly-broken away and partlyin section, and

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line IIIHI of Fig.- 2.

First considering the usual construction of the engine, there is a crankcase 1 containing a crank shaft 2 and on the crank case is mounted acylinder block 3 having water jackets 4 and cylinders 5, the cylinders 5containing pistons 6 operatively connected to cranks 6 of the crankshaft 2 by connecting rods 7.

On the cylinder block 3 is a head 8 providing chambers 9 for intakevalves 10 and exhaust valves 11, said valves having rods 12 adapted tobe raised through the medium of a cam shaft 13 operated from the crankshaft 2, the valves 10 and 11 being closed in the usualmanner. Below thevalves 10 and 11 are intake chambers 14 and exhaust chambers 15, theformer communicating with a main intake manifold 16 and the lattercommunicating with" an exhaust manifold 17, said manifolds beingsupported in the usual manner relative to the cylinder block.

At the side of the engine is a conventional form of carburetor 18 havingan air intake connection 19 and an outlet connection opening into themain intake manifold 16 of the engine. All of the elements thus fardescribed are common in many types of lnternal combustion engines, andmy present improvement resides in the charge re jectin means. As setforthin the beginmug, may make the cylinders 5 and connecting rods 7 ofa greater length than is the usual practice, or the cylinder of agreater diameter with the usual piston stroke ;all of which will behereinafter considered and besides these changes, I make the followingaddition.

Between each set of intake and exhaust chambers 1 form a dischargechamber 20 which communicates with the chamber 9 so as to receive anexplosive mixture from the cylinder 5, when the valves 10 and 11 areclosed. The chamber 20 also communicates with an auxiliary manifold 21suit ably connected to the cylinders 5 and hav- 'ing abranch 22communicating with the main intake manifold 16, adjacent the carbureter18. The manifold may be in the form of a nozzle 23 approximately in'theplane of fuel emitted by the carbureter and constructively arranged toemit its fuel upwardly into the main intake manifold 16,

so that the initial charge of'fuel may commingle with the secondarycharge and the two charges enter the cylinders of the en- .gine as theintake valves'lO are opened.

downstroke and the intake valve 10 open,

an explosive charge is drawn from the main intake manifold 16 throughthe chambers 14 and 9 into the cylinder 5, and bearing in mind that thiscylinder has been redesigned or enlarged, approximately a greater volumeof fuel is drawn intothe cylinder than is the usual practice. Allof thisfuel is to be heated by contact with the'walls of the cylinder and onthe up or compression stroke of the piston 6 the intake valve 10 isclosed, and the excess discharge valve 24 opened for the first portionof the up or compression stroke of the piston. It is preferably thefirst part of the upward or compression stroke of the piston 6 that theexcess discharge valve 24 is open so that some of the heated explosivemixture will be returned to the chamber 9, pass through the chamber 20into the auxiliary manifold 21, and through the branch 22 into the mainintake manifold 16, where it commingles with the initial supply of fueland may enter one of the other cylinders of the engine.

As the piston '6 completes the firstportion of its upward orco'mpression stroke the valve 24 is closed, so that approximately theusual volume of fuel will be retained in the cylinder 5 to be compressedtherein and exploded. Assuming that the explosive mixture has beendetonated, the piston 6 is forced downwardly on an impulse or workstroke and assuming that the cylinder is of greater length than usual,it is obvious that the exploded mixture has greater opportunity toexpand and perform work before the exhaust valve 11 is opened for afinal atmospheric exhaust; It is therefore possible to derive a greater,amount of energy fromthe burned and expended gases and permit such gasesto exhaust at a pressure of the engine piston materially increases theefiiciency of the engine as a power plant.

This phase of my invention may be more clearly understood by referenceto Fig. 3. In this figure of the drawings, the cylinder 5 has beenincreased in its diameter compared to the diameter of an ordinarycylinder, and in consequence of such increase there is necessarily avolumetric or gas capacity increase in the cylinder. It is thereforeapparent that the large cylinder may receive a greater or excess chargeof an explosive mixture, and, before such charge can be compressed tothe same degree as the charge in the usual size of cylinder, that thepiston in the large cylinder must travel a greater distance, due to theratio of clearance space to the piston displacement. For

instance, in Fig. 3, 1 show by dot and dash lines the position thepiston may assume when it actually starts to compress and meets with thesame resistance as in an ordinary cylinder. It will be noted that thepiston has made a greater stroke than an ordinary piston for the reasonthat it has not met with a compression resistance as high in' the largecylinder. In other words, at the beginning of the stroke of the largepiston there is practically no resistance, other than that of moving avolume of gas, to be considered excess, and it is this eXceSs volumethat is expelled from the large cylinder, while the valve 24 is open, tocommingle with a fresh or initial charge and enter some other" cylinderof the engine or be reserved for future use. So, since there i is noactual compression to be accomplished by the large piston until it makesa greater stroke than an ordinary piston, it is obvious that the crank 6moving the large piston assumes altogether a different position, at thebeginning of actual compression, than the crank of an ordinary piston.This difference of angularity has been brought out in Fig. 3 and it isnow evident that there is comparatively less torque and actual work tobe performed by the crank shaft when the piston is com: pletingcompression. This may be considered in another way. For instance, it maybe said that during actual compression of an ordinary piston, the crank6 travels in an during the lesser part of the crank ascension, orbetween two hundred and seventy and three hundred and sixty degrees ofone revolution of the crank shaft.

It is obvious that when the length of the cylinder is increased and alsothe connecting rods serving the pistons in said cylinders, that there isa change in the angularity of the connecting rods relative to the crankshaft during the operation of the piston that is different from that ofordinary connecting rods, and by providing long strokes there is lessside thrust on the bearings of the crank shaft, less racking of theengine and consequently greater eificiency.

It is thought that the operation and util ity of my invention will beapparent without further description and while in the drawing there isillustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to beunderstood that the structural elements are susceptible to such changes,in size, shape and manner of assemblage, as fall within the sco e of theappended claim.

t at I claim is 7 lln an internal combustion engine, the combinationwith cylinders, an intake manifold therefor, and intake and exhaustvalves controlling the admission of fuel to said cylinders from saidintake manifold andthe exhaust of burned gases from said cylinders, ofan auxiliary manifold establishing communication between said cylindersand said intake manifold, said engine cylinders being proportioned toreceive a greater quantity of fuel than usual so that the excessquantity of fuel may be heated and expelled from the cylinders to theintake manifold, and means controlling the expellation of the excessivefuel from said cylinders.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

GEORGE D. HOWE.

Witnesses O. F. BARTHEL, ANNA M. Dorm.

Elli

